Sam Briggs Retaliates Against Jillian Michaels Negative Criticism Of CrossFit

For decades, Jillian Michaels has inspired so many people to get in shape and she’s done such an amazing job. But, sometimes the saying… “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is just too fitting. Michaels recently criticized CrossFit as a whole and a really successful female CrossFitter wasn’t having any of it… 2013 CrossFit Games champion and 2019 Dubai Cross fit championship winner Sam Briggs quickly fired back after Michaels said some words which were simply opinion-based with no facts to back them up.

Here’s the video where Jillian Michaels explains her issues with CrossFit:

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@jillianmichaels is not a fan of #CrossFit, but there’s one move in particular that she really doesn’t love. Hit the link in bio to see which exercise she *really* hates seeing in the gym and to find out which moves she says are more efficient and safer.

A post shared by SHAPE: fitness, beauty, celebs (@shape) on Feb 7, 2019 at 8:03am PST

“I have a few issues with CrossFit, which is not a secret. First of all, you’ve got what, maybe 20 to 25 movements that don’t really vary? And you’re doing them over and over and over again. So, on one hand, it stops being effective because you’re not challenging the body from various angles of push and pull, with different varieties of exercises and different types of movements that work different modalities.”

“And I know CrossFit (athletes say), ‘Oh, we work all the modalities!’ – but no, not really, so shouldn’t you choose a workout that has a little bit more flexibility and strength so you get more mobility, not just power, which is speed and strength.”

“A little agility work, maybe some endurance training,” she said. “So that you’re training in a more balanced way, to keep the body changing and keep your training more holistic by hitting all modalities of fitness.”

Now, the problem with Michael’s assessment is that she speaks these words from inexperience in the subject of CrossFit and little does she know, there are plenty of people who actually benefit greatly from it. Sam Briggs responded to the much opinionated Michael’s with some real truth about what CrossFit actually involves…

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I saw the recent interview by @jillianmichaels and @shape … I thought that maybe some others out there didn’t fully understand what we do in @crossfit … so here’s an attempt to shed some light into what we actually do: • Cardiovascular/Respiratory Endurance: Sustained bouts of effort ranging from 5km runs to marathon rows • Stamina: The aim of most CrossFit workouts is to develops the ability to perform gymnastic and barbell movements efficiently for high number of repetitions • Strength: In addition to barbell movements being used regularly to build strength there will be a focus on strict body weight elements • Flexibility: Warm ups are utilized to prep and prime the body to be able to attain the correct range of motion • Power: Plyometrics are incorporated into training along side Olympic lifting which is key to developing power • Speed: As well as sprint sessions for running/rowing/swimming etc we use EMOMs and interval training • Coordination: Any time you’re learning a new skill it takes a lot of coordination to master it. The more complex the movement the more coordination needed • Agility: Agility is the ability to be quick and graceful. The more proficient we become at the fundamental movements the more effortless and agile they seem • Balance: Single leg movements and the main lifts help to develop a strong core and stabilizers which help us balance. Along side this we learn gymnastic skills and balance upside down whilst HS walking up and over obstacles • Accuracy: In CrossFit we use traditional target type training for example throwing objects, jumping and landing on boxes, or traversing obstacles. But also, the lifts and gymnastics requires a high amount of accuracy of timing to execute the movement correctly #fitness #10domains #crossfit #crossfitgames

A post shared by Samantha Briggs (@bicepslikebriggs) on Feb 17, 2019 at 12:42pm PST

…Booyah! In your face Jillian Michaels… it always pays to do some research before quickly forcing your beliefs on everyone else with no experience on the subject matter.

CrossFit is a growing sport and it has changed so many lives. It’s very intensive and utilizes a wide array of angles and movements for complete mobility and functionality, so it’s definitely not limited (Have you seen the physiques and athleticism of serious CrossFit athletes?).

Brooke Ence, another female CrossFit athlete responded to Michael’s uneducated statements with…

“Needing to stay relevant so she needs to create controversy. Honestly, I feel bad for her, whoever fed her the Information about what is CrossFit did not do their homework and in turn made her look like a complete moron.”

Most would agree that Michael’s was wrong for making such absurd statements and this will likely put a small dent in her reputation.

Was Jillian Michaels out of line with her ill-informed assessment of the CrossFit training style?